This application is the national phase under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7371 of PCT International Application No. PCT/DK00/00485 which has an International filing date of Sep. 4, 2000, which designated the United States of America.
The present invention relates to a method for automatic control of breeding of free-range animals, in particular porkers and other animals bred for meat production, wherein the feed consumed by each individual animal is identified and registered to that the feeding of each animal may be traced so that quality parameters of products derived form the animals can be established and/or so as to identify animals that have been given feed form a particular batch of feed that subsequently has been discovered to comprise impurities or contamination. In particular, the present method may comprise active and automatic control of the living conditions of the animals based on the monitored and recorded data so that a minimal amount of human interaction is required in the normal operation of a breeding system controlled by use of the method. The invention further relates to a control system, typically comprising a general-purpose computer having a suitable computer program installed thereon, for controlling the operation of a breeding system according to the present method.
A steadily increasing demand exists for animal products, such as meat and milk, of which the consumers can obtain knowledge with respect to the breeding conditions of the animals from which the products origin, the breeding conditions being understood in a broad sense and including a lot of details relating, e.g. to feeding of the animals and their general well-being. Furthermore, it is of interest to the farmers to handle the animals individually, especially with respect to feeding, so that the most efficient and economical breeding is performed. This handling should however be as automated as possible since the cost of human labour is steadily increasing in most of the world.
A number of arrangements of individual control of animals are known for the prior art in particular for pigs, for cattle and for milk cows.
One apparatus for automatic, individual feeding of animals is disclosed in DE 37 01 864 in which the animals are weighted and/or identified at one station form which each animal is selectively lead to one of a plurality of individual feeding pens, is lead back to the stock if they have been fed or is lead to a separation area by means of moving or turning the weighting/identification station between the different destinations. The identification of the animals, is made by means of an identification tag fastened to each animal and the amount of feed in the feeding pens is measured out for the individual animal.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,517,923 discloses an automatic animal feeding system, in particular for cows, in which the animals are fed individually upon identification of the animal from automatically reading of an identification tag attached to each of the animals. The amount of feed provided to the animal is based on information collected about each animal, such as the animals weight. The animal may be weighted manually where after the weight is entered into the control system, or the animals may be weighted automatically on a commonly accessible scale which periodically measured the weight of the animal, on scales provided in the feeding pens or on scales provided in the parlour stalls.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,673,647 relates to an automated method and system for providing individual animal electronic identification, measurement and value based management of cattle in a large cattle feedlot. Animals are individually identified and measured by weight, external dimensions and characteristics of internal body tissue. The individual identification and registration of the cattle with respect to physical and other information is used for calculating the optimal time for slaughtering. There is no mentioning of an individual feeding of the cattle or feeding means and the cattle are fed directly on the ground in the herd.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,355,833 relates to a computer controlled equipment for breeding of calves and other animals, comprising means for identification and weighing of each animal, computation of amount and composition of feed from the weight, the increase in weight, thickness of fat layer, temperature etc.
German Patent Application DE 3 623 816 relates to an equipment in which the animals are weighted and an amount of feed is computed according to the individual weight and weight gain of the animal and the feed ratio is dispersed and registered.
Several other patents and patent applications relates to controlled breeding of animals, such as FI 930 961, GB 2 190 767, GB 2 220 834, GB 2 232 053, DE 195 21 570, FR 2 507 776, FR 2 623 688, EP 0 657 098, WO 84/01688, WO 91/10358, WO 96/00003, WO 98/47351, WO 97/47187, WO 98/39475, U.S. Pat. No. 4,461,240, U.S. Pat. No. 4,463,706, U.S. Pat. No. 4,532,892, U.S. Pat. No. 3,180,321, U.S. Pat. No. 4,498,424, U.S. Pat. No. 4,589,372, U.S. Pat. No. 5,309,864 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,579,719.
However, none of the above identified references include the tracing between each individual animal and thereby the potential products derived therefrom and the identification of the particular feed being fed to said individual animals.
By the use of the present invention, detailed knowledge of the conditions for the individual animal may be provided to the consumers, primarily relating to feeding and type of feed, such as organically grown feed, genetically modified feed, absence of animal food in feed for herbivores etc., conditions relating to health, such as cases of illness, intake of medicine within a given period etc. Furthermore, the method of the present invention provides the condition that the well-being of the individual animal is constantly monitored so that no animal will show behaviour or other characteristics indicating illness or other deviation from the normal well-being for a longer period without action is taken to change the condition of the animal.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for breeding of animals in which a precise and traceable identification of the feed consumed by the animal is registered and kept on record, preferably during the lifetime of the animal, so that a well-documented product from the animals may be provided.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a method in which the monitored and recorded characteristics are used to actively control the conditions for the animal, including feeding of the animals as well as selection of the animals for slaughtering, for further breeding, for medical treatment, etc.
One of the advantages of the present invention relates to the possibility of identifying and separating one or more animals for slaughtering or other purposes based on a selection of data on the animals which may be incorporated into the computer program.
In one embodiment, a number of animals such as pigs are separated at a specific time based on a number of criteria or characteristics such as one or more of the following weight, fat content, health (duration from last medication, absence of fever), and age. The separation of the desired number of animals may then be performed at a given time such as a planned transportation to the slaughterhouse. If the desired number is not available, the system may set a number of alternative criteria or ranges to secure that the desired number of animals are separated.
In a further embodiment, the characteristics which are used for separating the animal include registration of conditions relating to stress such as the stress symptoms including pulse, blood pressure and registration of a dilation of the eye pupil, all parameters is compared with a basic value registered and recorded on each animal. Any of these factors may be registered and stored at any desired time according to the control system of the present invention. The specific registration is preferable performed in connection with the registration of the individual animal in the automatic feeding unit, or in connection with weighting or if desired, the animal may regularly be separated for the specific detection of any of such features.
In a still further embodiment, the method of controlling according to the present invention involves recording of data relevant for the individual animal suitability for breeding in addition to the basic recording of the parent. These data include a recording of number of piglets delivered by the sow, the weight of the piglets and other health parameters. Accordingly, the computer program may identify the optimal parent animals for breeding in accordance with the situation and circumstances wherein which the animals should live, such as the climate, available food, stress factors in addition to factors relating to health, weight gain in relation to food intake, etc.
In a still further embodiment, animals which has been genetically engineered for the purpose of organ delivery for transplantation into humans may be monitored and controlled according to the present invention.
In addition, a product arising from the animal such as milk may in the further production and handling be followed by a recording allowing identification of the animal delivering the product at a later stage. In one embodiment, the meat arising for the animal is registered and followed by an identification which e.g. in case of contaminated meat allows identification of the individual animal as well as the entire herd. It will also be possible to identify other products which has been in any contact or possible contact with the contaminated product during the handling procedure.
Animals which has been genetically engineered for delivering a product with a specific quality such as a human hormone excreted in the milk may be subject to a concrete surveillance according to the invention in that weight, temperature, health parameters and behaviour is registered and monitored for the individual animal.
The advantage of the present invention relates to the fact that it will be possible to breed a large number of animals with a minimal man capacity. At the same time it is possible to diminish loss of feed and furthermore, the breeding may be adapted to one or more specific desired qualities of the product without increasing cost or work. In other words, the system allow e.g. the breeding of animals with different fat content to be breed together and also to feed a selected number of animals with a selected food. The breeding may also be performed during circumstances securing the overall welfare of the animal.
According to the main aspect, the present invention relates to a method for controlling breeding of animals of a herd comprising for each animal the repeated series of steps of
automatic identification of an individual animal by means of identification means controlled by means of a control unit to which an output significant of the identity of the animal is communicated from the identification means,
dispersing feed to the identified animal by means of feed dispersing means of an automatic feeding unit controlled by means of the control unit, and
adding data concerning the feeding of the identified animal to a record pertaining to said animal and storing said record on data storage means associated with the control unit, the data concerning the feeding of the identified animal comprises data suitable for unique identification of the batch/batches of feed from which the feed dispersed to the animal is taken. Thereby a unique link between each animal and the specific batches of feed is established from which a tracing between animals and feed is enabled.
These data suitable for unique identification of the feed dispersed to the animal may be used for establishing a link between an animal or a product derived from an animal, such as meat or milk, to an identified source of feed. This feature implies several advantages. It enables that the consumer can obtain data relating to the content of the feed given to the animal, such as e.g. a possible content of genetically modified plant products, animal products such as meat-and-bone meal, plant products that have been treated with pesticides or straw-shortening agents, etc. The feature further enables the establishment of a link from a source of feed containing unwanted or harmful components to animals or products from animals that have been fed the feed in question as well as a link from an animal or a product that have been demonstrated to contain such component to a limited sources of feed, from which the contaminated feed may be identified and a link from the feed to animals and products may be established. The unique identification of the batch of feed may be the code used commonly comprising a 12 number identification of the content of the batch plus a 4 number identification of the batch itself. This identification may be combined with the storage of a sample of each batch as described below.
Thus, the method may further comprise the steps of
identifying from said records which batches a given animal have consumed feed from,
retrieving from data storage means information about the constituents of each of the batches of feed from which a given animal have consumed feed from, and
producing an output accordingly. This output may comprise a detailed list of components and their absolute of relative share of the total amount of feed consumed by the animal, the output may information about the components, whether they are e.g. organically grown, are genetically modified or any other information that may be of interest to consumers or others.
Alternatively or additionally, the link between animals and batches of feed may be used to trace animals that have been fed a given batch of feed, and the method may comprise the steps of
identifying from a unique identification of a batch of feed the animals of the herd which have consumed feed from said batch, and
producing an output accordingly.
In a further embodiment of the present invention, the data suitable for unique identification of the batch/batches of feed from which the feed dispersed to the animal is taken are being added to a record pertaining to the identified animal for substantially all food being fed to the animal during a period corresponding substantially to the lifetime of the animal and substantially all of the data added to the record pertaining to each of the animals are kept in the record at least during said period. The adding of data to the records may also include data from monitoring of characteristics of the animal as described below and also be performed during a period corresponding substantially to the lifetime of the animal and substantially all of the data added to the record pertaining to each of the animals are kept in the record at least during said period. In addition, the monitoring may be continued for a product obtained from the animal allowing a control back in time and subsequent identification of an animal giving rise to a product of high quality or in other cases the identification of an animal which produces a product with inferior quality. Based on the record of the animal it is possible to study possible factors and conditions relevant for the final product depending on the intended use of the product, i.e. consumption, breeding, veterinarian or human medical research, etc.
Each record may alternatively or additionally comprises data relating to the identity of the mother of the individual animal, said data being suitable for enabling unique identification of feed dispersed to the mother during the pregnancy period to be retrieved. Thereby, the above-mentioned links may be established for the indirect feed consumption of the animals in the embryonic stage.
The linking between animal and batches of feed may in a preferred embodiment be extended to comprise a linking between products derived from the animals and the batches of feed. Thus, the method may further comprise the steps of
determining by means of product identification means a unique animal identification of products derived from animals of the herd, and
searching and retrieving from data storage means a record pertaining to the animal from which the product was derived in accordance with the determined unique animal identification, the record comprising data suitable for unique identification of batches of feed from which feed dispersed to the animal have been taken.
As it is increasingly important to have a safe identification on an animal and as the genetic technology now allows easy test for an animals DNA profile, the method may involve a record comprising data being significant for the DNA of the animal to which the record pertains so that each animal may be positively linked to the record pertaining to said animal by means of said data. Thus, the method may further comprise the steps of
determining unique animal identification data by means of analysing the DNA of a sample taken from an animal of the herd or from a product derived from an animal from the herd, and
searching and retrieving from data storage means a record pertaining to the animal in accordance with the determined unique animal identification data, the record comprising data suitable for unique identification of batches of feed from which feed dispersed to the animal have been taken.
In order to achieve a more detailed monitoring of the animals and for use e.g. in separation of animals from the herd, the data concerning the feeding of the individual animal may comprises data concerning the time at which the animal is fed.
The method according to the invention may furthermore comprise the steps of
monitoring characteristics of each individual animal by regularly, automatically detection of said characteristics by means of detection means controlled by means of a control unit to which the detection means communicate an output signal being significant for the detected characteristics, the detection being accompanied by an automatic identification of the individual animal by means of identification means controlled by means of the control unit to which an output significant of the identity of the animal is communicated from the identification means, said characteristics comprising at least the weight of the animal, and
adding said output from the detection means into a record pertaining to the individual animal, the record being selected by the control unit from a plurality of records comprised within a data storage means of said control unit by use of the output from the identification means, and storing of said record in the data storage means by means of said control unit.
In a further embodiment the method additionally comprises the steps of
computing a feed ration for each individual animal by means of the control unit based on data comprised within the record of said animal and on a set of standard data comprised in the data storage means,
the control of the automatic feeding unit by means of the control unit to disperse feed to the identified animal being according to the computed feed ration. Data about the dispersed feed ration is stored in the record pertaining to the animal. The computed feed ration may comprise a mixture of at least two types of feed and the feed dispersing means disperses according to the method said mixture accordingly.
In an important aspect of the invention, the method is a method wherein the feeding unit comprises detection means for detecting a possible amount of feed that was not consumed by the animal to which it was dispersed and for communicating data being significant of said amount to the control unit, said data being added to the record pertaining to said animal. Advantageously, the detection means may comprise a camera for producing an image of the feeding bowl after the animal has left is and a computer programme for determining the potential amount of non-consumed feed from the image. Such a system has proven to require less maintenance than a weighing unit in the feeding bowl. It is detected that the animal has not finished the full amount of feed, the amount may be decreased for the next feeding whereas the amount of feed may be increased if the animal empties the bowl. The feeding is thereby adjusted to optimise the growth rate for the individual animal from weaning to slaughtering. The collected data may also be used for computation of the E value discussed below and for monitoring of the well being of the animal.
The characteristics to be monitored according to the present invention may according to the invention relates to the step of monitoring of at least one of the following characteristics:
a) a temperature of the animal,
b) a thickness of the fat layer on the back of the animal, and
c) an image representing at least a part of the body of the animal,
the at least one characteristics being detected by suitable detection means controlled by means of the control unit to which the detection means communicates an output signal being significant for the detected characteristics, the method further comprising the step of adding said output from the detection means into the record pertaining to the identified animal. The images may be used for identification of the animals, for classification purposes, surveillance of the well-being and/or for veterinarian or human medical research purposes.
In case stress factors is relevant the method comprises the monitoring of at least one of the following characteristics relating to the stress level of the animal:
d) the respiration rate of the animal,
e) the heart beat rate of the animal,
f) the blood pressure of the animal, and
g) an image of an eye of the animal,
the at least one characteristics being detected by suitable detection means controlled by means of the control unit to which the detection means communicates an output signal being significant for the detected characteristics, the method further comprising the step of comparison of the output signal with a standard value of said output comprised within the storage means by means of the control unit and the step of adding the outcome of said comparison into the record pertaining to the identified animal. The standard value of said output for each of the animals may be comprised within the record pertaining to the animal. The image of the eye of an animal may also be used for unique identification purposes.
In a further aspect, the temperature of each animal is monitored, and the method further comprising the steps of
determining whether the detected temperature deviates from a predetermined reference temperature range by means of the control unit, and
separating the animal by means of the separation unit in case of deviation.
Due to the fact that feeding is an important and economical relevant factor in breeding, the method according to the invention may further comprise the step of
on a regular basis computing the E value, being the weight unit growth per consumed weight unit of feed, for each animal by means of the control unit using data comprised within the record pertaining to the animal. This will enable the breeder to identify an animal which for some reason is having an unusual growth curve, whether desirable or non desirable. Accordingly, in a preferred embodiment, the invention relates to a method further comprising the steps of
determining for each animal whether the computed E value deviates from a predetermined set of E value ranges by means of the control unit, and
separating the animal by means of a separation unit controlled by means of the control unit in case of deviation.
The calculation of E values may also be utilised for, on a regular basis, computing statistical values of weight unit growth per consumed weight unit of a given feed (E value) for a plurality of the animals by means of the control unit using data comprised within the record pertaining to each of said plurality of animals so as to provide a measure of the quality of the given feed and thereby evaluate the quality e.g. in order to adjust the feeding rations and/or to monitor changes in the quality. It is preferred in order to make the calculation of the E value as precise as possible that the dispersed amount of feed is weighted before it is fed to the animal instead of relying on the precision of the dispersing means, such as a screw conveyor. With a large number of systems for breeding of animals according to the present method and using a vast number of different types of feed, it will be possible to range the types of feed according to the quality, i.e. the unit growth per unit consumed weight or per unit costs, and having a separate range for each group of animals, such as porkers 20-30 kg of weight, etc. This ranging of the types of feed may according to the invention be prepared and made publicly accessible on a computer system being connected to a public communication network.
In a still more preferred embodiment, the method comprises the steps of
determining for each animal whether the consumed amount of feed deviates from a predetermined set of feed consumption ranges by means of the control unit using data comprised within the record pertaining to the animal, and
separating the animal by means of the separation unit in case of deviation.
The feed ration for each animal may also be adjusted by means of the control unit according to the detected temperature and optionally to the wind speed the animals are subjected to. This is due to he fact that the temperature of the environment is relevant for the energy each animal will need.
It is a general advantage if the breeding system is arranged to perform automatic separation of a subgroup of animals from the herd for the purpose of e.g. slaughtering, for medical treatment, etc. Thus, the method may further comprise the steps of
selecting a subgroup of the herd of animals, said subgroup comprising at least one animal, by means of the control unit, the selection being based on data comprised within the records of each animal and on a set of selection data comprised in the data storage means, and
controlling an automatic separation unit by means of the control unit, wherein each animal belonging to said subgroup is automatically identified by means of identification means controlled by means of the control unit and is separated to a separation enclosure.
The control unit may preferable at least temporarily connected to a data communication network which it is able to communicate with at least one remote system. The remote system may be a surveillance system from which the operation of the control unit may be remotely monitored and at least partially controlled. The communication between the control unit may be via private data communication means, public data communication means such as telephone lines, it may be by wire or wireless, or any combination of data communication means and networks. The communication is preferably established as a two-way communication.
The method may also comprise the step of issuing a warning information requesting external interaction by means of the control unit in case at least one condition of a list of conditions is fulfilled, the list of conditions comprising at least the following conditions:
a) at least one of the animals has not entered a feeding unit within a predetermined time period, and
b) the power supply to the breeding system controlled by the control unit is interrupted.
In a further aspect, the feeding unit comprises feed storage means and monitoring means for monitoring the content of the storage means and communicating to the control unit accordingly, the list of conditions further comprising one or more of the following conditions:
c) the remaining supply of feed in the feed storage means is below a predetermined threshold value.
d) the pressure in the supply of compressed air to the breeding system is below a predetermined threshold value,
e) the pressure in the supply of drinking water to the breeding system is below a predetermined threshold value, and
f) a malfunction of one of the elements of the breeding system being controlled by means of the control unit is detected, and alternatively or additionally,
g) at least one of the animals has not approached a drinking water bowl a within a predetermined time period.
The warning may be issued for any other monitored characteristic of the animal or any other malfunction of the system, such as erroneous function of the weighing means, of gates, of turning of carrousel, etc. The operation of the system may furthermore be monitored by cameras producing images from which a malfunction of the system may be detected automatically by image analysis. The analysis may be performed in the control unit or in a remote surveillance system.
In a preferred embodiment, the warning information is issued to a remote system by means of the data communication network.
Use of medicine in the breeding is of increasing interest in that resistance and leftover of medicine in the products of the animal should be avoided. Accordingly, control of the feeding unit may further comprise the step of controlling medicine dispersing means of the feeding unit in accordance with medicine dispersing data stored within the record pertaining to the identified animal in the feeding unit so that the animal is being provided with a predetermined ration of medicine, the data concerning the dispersing of medicine is added to said record.
The invention also relates to a method wherein a subgroup is selected to be in accordance with a separation order communicated to the control unit, the separation order comprising data relating to the number of animals to be separated and to at least one quality to be fulfilled by the selected animals, the at least one quality being selected from a list of qualities comprising the following quality:
a) a weight range from which the weight of each of the selected animals do not deviate,
b) a predetermined time period in which medicine has not been dispersed to any of the selected animals,
c) a thickness range from which the thickness of the fat layer on the back of the selected animals should not deviate,
d) a set of E value ranges from which the set of computed E values of the selected animals should not deviate.
In general, the separation is performed in relation to the feeding and the separation order may further comprises data relating to the time at which the separation following the selection is to be accomplished, the separation of animals being performed with consideration to data relating to the times at which the animal is fed comprised in the record of each animal. In addition, animals that are separated for slaughtering are preferable identified and monitored through the procedure of separation, transport to the place of slaughtering and the slaughtering process itself so that the a plurality of times relating to said procedure are monitored for each of the individual animals the times are added to the records pertaining to the respective animals.
A separation order as discussed above may be communicated to the control unit from a computer system being external to the control unit via a public data communication network, and optionally also via a remote surveillance system and the control unit, respectively the remote surveillance system, is in this embodiment adapted to receive such a separation order of a given format and effectuate it automatically. The separation order is typically issued from a slaughterhouse or the like. The separation order comprises in a preferred embodiment a future date of separation and the control unit are adapted to control the breeding so as to aim at fulfilling the at least one quality of the separation order.
Finally, the receipt of a separation order from an external computer system is in a most preferred embodiment followed by the step of issuing an order confirmation from the control unit, optionally from a remote surveillance system, via a public data communication network to the external computer system, said order confirmation comprising information indicating to which extend said separation order may be executed.
Each of the records may further comprise data relating to the identity of the parents of the animal and to the date of birth.
As explained above, animals that are separated for slaughtering may be followed through the slaughtering process as well as the meat processing process so that at least some of the final products originating from the animals can be positively identified as to from which animal the product originates. It is preferred that said identified products are equipped with an identification means by means of which the animal from which the product originates can be identified.
It is thus possible to offer customers to place orders containing detailed specifications for the specific product and to control the production and breeding accordingly. By the tracing of the products and animals made possible be the present system, it is possible for the customer to control that the specifications are fulfilled. An order could comprise the following specifications:
only female pigs, the mothers of which were in free-range during pregnancy, the piglets not weaned until 7th week, raised in open air/on field from 7th week, a constant monitoring of the well-being of the individual animal, no medication given to the animals, no contents of genetically modified components in the feed, no treatment of grain components in the feed with specified pesticides or other specified chemicals, no fertilisation of components of the feed with sludge, specified identity of the persons/companies responsible for the breeding of the animals, maximum transport time between breeding place and slaughterhouse, maximum time between arrival to slaughterhouse and slaughtering, limit for measured stress level (measured from the meat, e.g. the content of halotene), weight range before slaughtering, e.g. 110-112 kg, thickness of fat layer on the back 6-8 mm, maturing of the meat and date of delivery.
Similarly, a request can be made to the control unit or the remote system whether a given number of animals fulfilling a given set of criteria can be separated and delivered at a given date of delivery.
In a still further aspect, the invention relates to a breeding arrangement controlled by use of the method and comprising a mud-hole arranged accessible for the animals, the mud-hole having such dimensions that it may contain at least one of said animals and having a design so that said animals are able to enter and leave the mud-hole, the mud-hole comprising detection means for detecting the relative content of one or more components of excreta in a liquid contained within the mud-hole and communicating an output accordingly to the control unit, the control unit comparing the output with a predetermined range stored within the storage means and issuing a warning in case the output deviates from said range. Any warning may be issued to an external system via the communication network.
The above-mentioned methods may comprise a monitoring of the intake of drinking water by the individual animal as well as the time of the water intake, a data recordation accordingly and the issuing of a warning or the separation of an animal if the water intake deviates from a predetermined range. The range may be determined from a number of data, such as the weight, age, race and/or sex of the animal, environmental conditions such as temperature, wind speed and/or humidity, and a deviation from the range may be an early indication of an illness of the animal, typically diarrhoea which may be deadly to the animal if diagnosed late in the course of the disease. The amount of drinking water may also be measured out for each of the animals in the drinking bowl and/or in the feeding bowl.
The present invention relates in a further aspect, that may be regarded as a separate invention that may be combined with any of the previously mentioned steps and features or may be incorporated in the above method, to a method for controlling breeding of animals of a herd comprising for each animal the repeated series of steps of
monitoring characteristics of each individual animal by regularly, automatically detection of said characteristics by means of detection means controlled by means of the control unit to which the detection means communicate an output signal being significant for the detected characteristics, the detection being accompanied by an automatic identification of the individual animal by means of identification means controlled by means of the control unit to which an output significant of the identity of the animal is communicated from the identification means, said characteristics comprising at least the weight of the animal,
adding said output from the detection means into the record pertaining to the individual animal and storing of said record in the data storage means by means of the control unit,
dispersing feed to the identified animal by means of feed dispersing means of an automatic feeding unit controlled by means of the control unit,
adding data concerning the feeding of the identified animal to a record pertaining to said animal and storing said record on data storage means associated with the control unit,
automatic identification of an individual animal approaching a drinking water bowl by means of identification means of the drinking bowl controlled by means of the control unit to which an output significant of the identity of the animal is communicated from the identification means,
monitoring of the amount of water consumed by said animal from the drinking water bowl by means of detection means and communicating an output accordingly to the control unit, and
adding said data to the record pertaining to said animal, the animals of the herd being supplied with drinking water from one or more drinking water bowls controlled in the above way so that all consumption of drinking water of each of the animals is monitored and data concerning said consumption are added to the record of each animal.
Thus, according to this aspect, at least the weight and the feeding of the animal is monitored by the control unit as well as the water intake by the animal. Thereby, a full surveillance of the essential characteristics is available for detecting deviations in the well-being of the animal. The intake of drinking water may increase or decrease as a function of a number of parameters and with the use of the data relating to feeding and weight, a potential illness of the animal may be detected from the data relating to the intake of water and the necessary measures may be taken. Thus, the method may further comprise the steps of
determining for each animal whether the consumed amount of water deviates from a predetermined set of water consumption ranges by means of the control unit using data comprised within the record pertaining to the animal, and
separating the animal by means of the separation unit in case of deviation.
Furthermore, the step of separation of the animal is accompanied by the issuance of warning information by means of the control unit.
The present invention relates in a yet further aspect, which may be regarded as a separate invention that may be combined with any of the previously mentioned steps and features or may be incorporated in the above methods, to a method for controlling breeding of animals of a herd comprising
selecting by means of a control unit a subgroup of animals from the herd and determining a weight range from which the weight of each of the selected animals should not deviate at a selected future date, the method further comprising for each animal of the selected subgroup the repeated series of steps of
monitoring the weight of each individual animal by regularly, automatically detection of the weight by means of weighing means controlled by means of a control unit to which the weighing means communicate an output signal being significant for the detected weight, the detection being accompanied by an automatic identification of the individual animal by means of identification means controlled by means of the control unit to which an output significant of the identity of the animal is communicated from the identification means,
adding said output from the weighing means into a record pertaining to the individual animal, the record being selected by the control unit from a plurality of records comprised within a data storage means of said control unit by use of the output from the identification means, and storing of said record in the data storage means by means of said control unit,
computing by means of the control unit a feed ration for each individual animal based on data comprised within the record pertaining to said animal, on the selected weight range, and on the selected date,
controlling an automatic feeding unit by means of the control unit, wherein each individual animal is automatically identified by means of identification means controlled by means of the control unit and the computed feed ration for the individual animal is dispersed to the animal by means of feed dispersing means controlled by means of the control unit, and
adding data concerning the feeding of the individual animal to the record pertaining to said animal.
Thus, the control unit may advantageously base the computation of the feed ration on a predetermined desired weight of the individual animal and a predetermined future date on which date said individual animal is desired to reach said weight, whereby a given number of animals may be ready for separation, e.g. for slaughtering, with a given weight at a given date. The control of the weight may be performed by feeding the animals a larger, respectively a smaller ratio of feed, or it can be performed by changing the composition or mixture of feed for the individual animal. The method may accordingly comprise the steps of
receiving by means of the control unit a separation order comprising data relating to the number of animals to be separated, to a weight range from which the weight of each of the selected animals should not deviate upon separation, and to a future date of separation,
performing said selection of a subgroup in accordance with the received separation order, and
performing by means of separation means controlled by the control unit a separation from the remaining herd of the selected subgroup of animals on said date of separation.
The present invention relates in another yet further aspect, which may be regarded as a separate invention that may be combined with any of the previously mentioned steps and features or may be incorporated in the above methods, to a method for controlling breeding of animals of a herd comprising for each animal the repeated series of steps of
monitoring characteristics of each individual animal by regularly, automatically detection of said characteristics by means of detection means controlled by means of the control unit to which the detection means communicate an output signal being significant or the detected characteristics, the detection being accompanied by an automatic identification of the individual animal by means of identification means controlled by means of the control unit to which an output significant of the identity of the animal is communicated from the identification means, said characteristics comprising at least the weight of the animal,
adding said output from the detection means into the record pertaining to the individual animal and storing of said record in the data storage means by means of the control unit,
dispersing feed to the identified animal by means of feed dispersing means of an automatic feeding unit controlled by means of the control unit,
detecting by means of electronic image recording means an electronic image being significant of a possible amount of feed that was not consumed by the animal to which it was dispersed and processing said image by means of data processing means to determine said possible amount, and
adding data concerning the feeding of the identified animal, including said determined possible amount, to a record pertaining to said animal and storing said record on data storage means associated with the control unit.
The present invention relates in a still yet further aspect, which may be regarded as a separate invention that may be combined with any of the previously mentioned steps and features or may be incorporated in the above methods, to a method for remote surveillance of a plurality of breeding systems each for automatic breeding of animals of a separate herd by means of a central surveillance computer system, the method comprises for each of the breeding systems the steps of
monitoring characteristics of each individual animal by regularly, automatically detection of said characteristics by means of detection means controlled by means of the control unit to which the detection means communicate an output signal being significant for the detected characteristics, the detection being accompanied by an automatic identification of the individual animal by means of identification means controlled by means of the control unit to which an output significant of the identity of the animal is communicated from the identification means, said characteristics comprising at least the weight of the animal,
adding said output from the detection means into the record pertaining to the individual animal and storing of said record in the data storage means by means of the control unit,
dispersing feed to the identified animal by means of feed dispersing means of an automatic feeding unit controlled by means of the control unit,
adding data concerning the feeding of the identified animal to a record pertaining to said animal and storing said record on data storage means associated with the control unit,
performing a continuous monitoring of the operation of at least parts of the breeding system by means of the control unit, and
at least temporarily establishing a data communication connection between the control unit and the central surveillance computer system via a data communication network,
the method further comprising the steps of comparing the collected data relating to the animals of each of the herds and to the monitoring of the operation of each of the plurality of breeding systems with a set of standard data defining an envelope of normal operation and issuing by means of the central surveillance computer a warning message comprising a request for human interaction with a specified one of the plurality of breeding systems.
Furthermore, the present invention relates to a computer system comprising at least one general purpose computer having one or more computer programs stored within data storage means associated therewith, the computer system being arranged for as well as being adapted for performing the above-described method.
Also, the present invention relates to a computer program product being adapted to enable a computer system comprising at least one general purpose computer having data storage means associated therewith and being arranged suitably to perform the above-described method.